Michigan’s leadership will change following the fall election. Its problems, however, will not.

Relying on old approaches to tackle persistent problems would be a mistake. Michigan needs something different, and someone different, beginning with the highest office, governor.

We believe the right person to provide that fresh perspective this year is Republican RICK SNYDER.

Mr. Snyder, a former executive from Ann Arbor, offerse the right mix of business-friendly proposals, environmental concern and centrist pragmatism. His temperament and policy leanings could transcend — or at least work across — Lansing’s partisan split. Mr. Snyder could be a different kind of governor. With the right support from the public and lawmakers, he could move Michigan toward a better future.

A Battle Creek native, Mr. Snyder comes to the governor’s race with a wealth of business experience. He was a partner in the accounting firm Coopers & Lybrand in Detroit, now PricewaterhouseCoopers. He later became president and chief operating officer of computer company Gateway, Inc. He served as chair of the Michigan Economic Development Corp., the state’s economic development arm, under former Gov. John Engler. He assembled a group to form Ann Arbor SPARK, a nonprofit devoted to boosting the region’s economy.

Mr. Snyder would focus intensely on economic development and jobs. He recommends dumping the Michigan Business Tax. The MBT and a subsequent surcharge have hurt the state’s already dismal jobs climate. The tax is onerous and complex, a poor replacement for the Single Business Tax, which suffered from the same deficits. To his credit, Mr. Snyder has a specific plan to replace the MBT, a flat 6 percent corporate income tax.

That may not be the right approach or the right level of taxation. However, the idea is admirable because it recognizes the state can’t simply lose the MBT revenue, which amounts to $1.86 billion a year on a $7.7 billion budget — a quarter of discretionary state spending — without some kind of replacement.

Absorbing that cut would devastate state services and make Michigan less attractive to prospective businesses and citizens. In addition, Mr. Snyder’s idea is simple. Unlike the MBT, his tax would not take a team of accountants to calculate.

Mr. Snyder is a bridge builder. He refuses, for instance, to enter the fight over a controversial right-to-work law, recognizing that the fissures such a proposal uncovers are not worth the potential benefits. He would insist Michigan be a low-tax state, but not to the point that investment in infrastructure is ignored or neglected. He would challenge government labor costs that are increasingly difficult for economically stressed taxpayers to bear. Health care, pensions and salaries all need to be reconsidered to find the best use of limited resources.

In all cases, the political left and right have to make concessions if Michigan is going to move forward. From a policy standpoint, the moderate Mr. Snyder would, we believe, strike the right balance.

His Democratic opponent is Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero. Mr. Bernero has been Lansing’s leader for five years, and prior to that served in the state House and the state Senate.

Mr. Bernero is a plain-spoken, sometimes fiery advocate for ordinary citizens. He represents, however, an earlier era in Michigan politics, one of polarization and partisanship. We can’t afford that old approach. Needed now more than ever is a common agenda that will unite rather than divide lawmakers and residents in a state still poised for greatness.

If Mr. Snyder has a weakness as a candidate, it is a lack of experience in government. That makes it important that he surround himself with capable, knowledgeable veterans who can navigate the Byzantine process of shaping legislation and passing bills. Mr. Snyder’s best ideas won’t be worth the paper they’re written on if he can’t get anything done.

His choice of running mate, Rep. Brian Calley, R-Portland, is a good start. Mr. Snyder should name other cabinet members before the election to give the public a sense of the people he would rely upon were he to become governor.

In addition, he should begin to articulate a more specific vision that lawmakers, present and future, can rally behind. He will need people from both parties to implement them.

Michigan can’t afford more stalemate and stagnation. Michigan needs a leader who will define a bold agenda and make the case for it. Rick Snyder can be that leader, if we give him a chance.

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